Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ja

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology

Ideophonic for paralingual expression of agreement, compare typologically Arabic يَه (yah) developed with the exact same meaning at the Yemenite Red Sea coast.

Alternative forms

*jai

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɑ/

Particle

*ja

yes (confirmation particle)
thus, so

Derived terms

*jai
*jabai
*jahw, *jah

Descendants

Proto-West Germanic: *jā
- Old English: ġēa, iā; ġē
  - Middle English: ȝea, ye, ya
    - Scots: ya, yea, ay, aye, yo
    - English: ya, yea, yo
- Old Frisian: jē, gē; jā, jē, jō
  - Saterland Frisian: ja, jee
  - West Frisian: ja
- Old Saxon: jā, giā; ge, gi, gie, gia
  - Middle Low German: ja, jâ
    - German Low German: ja
- Old Dutch: *jā
  - Middle Dutch: jâ
    - Dutch: ja, (obsolete) jae
      - Afrikaans: ja
        → English: ja
        → Portuguese: iá, yá, ya
      - Berbice Creole Dutch: ja
      - Jersey Dutch: jâ
      - Negerhollands: ja, ju
      - Skepi Creole Dutch: ja
      - → Indonesian: ya (probably)
      - → Malay: ya (probably)
      - → Saramaccan: jahái, jaái
    - Limburgish: jao
- Old High German: jā
  - Middle High German: ja, jā
    - Alemannic German: ja, jaa, jòò, jä
    - Bavarian:
      Cimbrian: ja
      Viennese: jå
    - German: ja (standard); jo, joa (informal)
      - → English: ya
      - → Polish: jo
    - Luxembourgish: jo
    - Yiddish: יאָ (yo)
Old Norse: já
- Icelandic: já
- Faroese: ja
- Norwegian Nynorsk: ja
- Norwegian Bokmål: ja
- Old Swedish: iā
  - Swedish: ja
  - → Finnish: jaa
- Danish: ja, jo
Gothic: 𐌾𐌰 (ja), 𐌾𐌰𐌹 (jai)